The math says that Torii Hunter — a 16-year major league veteran who has played with several hundred different teammates over the course of his amateur and professional baseball careers — has probably shared a clubhouse with a gay man. But math and science and reality aren’t things that the 37-year-old outfielder chooses to dabble in. Neither is decency.

This comes from an article on sexual orientation in the realm of high-level professional sports, written by Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times:

Former Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, among baseball’s most thoughtful and intelligent players, isn’t kidding when he says an “out” teammate could divide a team.

“For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right,” he says. “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”

Difficult and uncomfortable? Poor Torii.

The New Testament spends many more pages preaching love and acceptance than it does condemning homosexuality, and it’s quotes like Hunter’s that will prevent any true progress from happening in MLB.

Why does he not feel entitled to respond and act in accordance with the rest of the biblical declarations as so accurately listed in the clip above? Why does Hunter and all the rest ignore them and ignore the question of why they ignore them?

Yeah? Well in MY opinion your opinion shouldn’t have any bearing on what two sane, rational adults do in their personal lives. Bottom line.

I wonder what Torii would think about white ballplayers being “uncomfortable” with Jackie Robinson in their locker room back in the day. The fact that gay marriage is still considered an “issue” in the 21st century is a fucking travesty.

Well said Klenz –I am old enough to remember what real bigotry looked like. In 50/60s there were a lot of ignorant bigots who would have felt mighty uncomfortable sharing a public restaurant with Tori…basically because he was different from them..All part of the same bigotry. I wonder if Tori, living in the fantasy bubble that he does has even the slightest clue.

cleveland — just wanted to say that I DID not join in the thumbs down for you. Because even though I disagree with you (in that you believe being gay is wrong, or a sin), I absolutely support your right to believe that, and I appreciate your reluctance to tell others what is right or wrong. Don’t know why you got so many thumbs down, except that the thumbs are generally problematic, if you agree with one part but not another, etc.

I don’t think we need to worry too much about homosexual baseball players. There just will not be very many of them. The odds do not favor it.

It is fairly rare for someone to possess the ability to be a major league baseball player and to develop that ability to have the skills to be able to play professionally.

It is fairly rare for someone to be a homosexual. The number seems to be about 1 in 20, or 5%.

So, it will be very unusual for someone to be born with same sex attraction and to possess the ability to be a major league baseball player and to develop that ability to have the skills to be able to play professionally.

[warning…bad joke..coming]
Besides a man born with same sex attraction is more likely to go in for fashion design.
[\warning…bad joke..coming]

He’s allowed to has his views,as is everyone,but really,what difference does it make? A good ballplayer does what is necessary for the team to win. Torii would have to set that feeling aside for the better of the team if he has a gay teammate. Just my opinion.

What the hell is it with this guy, when he was with the Angels he was knocking Hispanics,( a large portion of their fans are Hispanic) now he’s talking crap on gays, hey Torii, heve you ever heard the phrase, live and let live? try it, and as a matter of fact just keep your bigot ways to yourself, and play baseball.

Oh yes, it’s sooo silly. Would you want your son or daughter to have same sex attraction? I don’t think so. Yes, I know, if your son or daughter had same sex attraction, you would still love and support them. Understood. But I’m asking, would you WANT them to have same sex attraction, or would you like them to be normal (i.e. use their sex organs for the purpose that evolution created them for)?

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged - Dec 31, 2012 at 10:00 AM

would you WANT them to have same sex attraction

WANT? No, because I want my son to grow up and be happy, and not have to face extra bullshit in his life because of a bunch of hypocritical people that can’t keep to themselves. I’ve seen the bad side of bigotry in regards to my gay uncle and wouldn’t wish anyone the pain he’s endured because of who he is.

or would you like them to be normal (i.e. use their sex organs for the purpose that evolution created them for)?

And there it is, the real reason for your comments.

Sign Ahead - Dec 30, 2012 at 6:26 PM

If all his Christian teachings and all of his understandings of the Bible tell him that homosexuality is wrong, then I think he missed a few of the details (maybe even a few of the larger themes).

My Bible goes on for pages and pages about loving my neighbor, helping people in need and reaching out to the outsider. It hardly mentions homosexuality at all. I’m hardly an expert, but I think there may be more important things than making sure I’m condemning people correctly.

The height of hypocrisy to invoke the bible as a reason for being against homosexuality when you are apparently okay with so many other things the bible teaches you shouldn’t do being done. Classical “I will ignore these rules because I want to do those things, but I’m staunchly supporting this rule because I have no desire whatsoever to break it”.

Now i dont agree with gay marriage at all, but i was always thought what a man does in his castle is his own business. So that being said regardless if they are open about it or not there is not a damn thing you can do about it, so theres no point in even talking about it.

On the bright side, atleast he did not use a homophobic slur.
It is his opinion so you have to respect it as long as Torri does not harm or bully any gay people.
Being uncomfortable around gay people is not judging gay people, it is more of his state of mind.
I do not see any harm done in this interview, in my opinion whether or not you agree is your opinion.

O don’ t bully black people but I’m uncomfortable having black neighbors. But that is just my opinion and should be respected and I shouldn’t be judged for feeling that way…….

Wait…..that sounds really stupid. Nevermind.

bh192012 - Dec 31, 2012 at 2:38 PM

Which is why if you have a team mate that doesn’t wash, is a Satanist and loud, it’s not PC to be uncomfortable around him. Everyone should be legally required to be comfortable around everyone else. Don’t give me any crap about protected classes either, stinky loud Satanists shouldn’t have to put up with judgement. Also, we should all share dressing rooms, since being uncomfortable undressing around people who might check your your stuff isn’t ok. -end sarcasm

Personally, I’m uncomfortable around highly religious people. I find it difficult to be around people who dress very formally. I’m not comfortable around people who look like they might be gang bangers. I’m uncomfortable around people who smell bad. I’m uncomfortable around nakid people. However, I fully support public nudity! Go figure, personal preferences don’t rule my policies. I 100% believe people can smell how ever they want, but it doens’t mean I have to be comfortable with it! Whether it’s by choice or nature.

Finally, judging someone isn’t necessarily wrong. If a guy is walking down the street trembling with a sword in his hand, and you walk ok the other side of the street, that’s judgement. He may just have to sneeze and purchased a decorative sword for his father. What matters is why you’ve come to your conclusions, is it because of racial hatred, religious hangups (Torii’s gay issue), preferences etc. I think Torii is dumb because he’s religious, not because of his gay views. He probably also doesn’t like adultery, false gods etc, which I couldn’t care less about.

(PS I hope you don’t hate me for my opinions, they really are opinions and are open to change if you have sound reasoning.)

I never said judging is wrong in all circumstances. Feeling uncomfortable is a survival mechanism to a perceived threat. We wouldn’t have survived as a species if we didn’t ever cast judgments. What I’m saying is that homosexuality is not a threat.

IdahoMariner - Dec 30, 2012 at 10:19 PM

the harm he is doing, in my opinion, is that he (or the writer) is implicitly saying that a gay teammate should not make it known to him or anyone in his clubhouse that they are gay, because he, Torii, will be uncomfortable. Given that whether one is gay, or black, has nothing to do with one’s abilities as a baseball player or teammate, that is at best a silly thing to say and to perpetuate, and at worst, a statement condemning someone to having to lie to their teammates in order to be accepted, and also is an emphatic endorsement of the continued discrimination against hmosexuals. given Torii’s status as a well-paid veteran in baseball, his opinion carries some weight…and stalls progress toward this not being an issue any more.

do you work alone? because in a multi-person work environment, your status as a single, married, gay or straight person is always there…whether it is in the pictures you put on your desk/cubicle, or whether you feel comfortable bringing your significant other to a company party, or even answering the “what did you do for the holidays/weekend?” question….lying about that sucks for so many reasons. one, you are lying. not a good habit to get into, nor a comfortable one. two, frequently, people can tell you are uncomfortable answering their questions, so they either think you are a freakin’ liar, or you are generally weird, or they think you are hiding something worse. three, again, lying.

yeah, it would be great if the issue never comes up. but it does, in so many ways that people don’t even realize.

It is so much easier, and less obnoxious, not to require people to lie to you to make you feel comfortable.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with Hunter, a black baseball player, saying another group (be it based on race, ethnicity, colour or sexual preference) would be difficult to accept into baseball? Or in addition to that, is just “not right”?

50 years ago we’d be saying “a black player would divide a team” or “blacks shouldn’t be allowed into baseball”. After all the progress we’ve made, it’s just especially disappointing for Hunter, as a black player, to be saying this about another group.

Paperlions nailed it in a nutshell. However, the guy is entitled to his opinion. And for Silva to write an article ripping Hunter for being a homophobe is just as dumb as Tori being a homophobe. Because all that’s in the article is basically ‘Tori Hunter is an asshole for being uncomfortable around gays’ which means its an article killing somebody for their opinion which isn’t Silva’s opinion. In other words, as dumb as it seems for Hunter to be homophobic this day and age, it’s just as dumb to rip a guy for being a homophobe. Silva’s opinion doesn’t carry any more weight than Hunter’s. If Hunter would have said he would embrace a gay teammate there would have likely not been an article written in HBT simply because the author agrees with that opinion.

This isn’t just a harmless opinion. This is a prejudiced opinion against a group of people simply for being who they are. This is the kind of opinion that robs people of the right to be treated as equals. While Hunter has every right to express it, those that don’t agree with him have just as much right to call him out on it and express why that opinion is ignorant.

If Torii Hunter had said, “I would welcome a gay teammate as much as I would welcome any teammate” it would be huge news. Homophobia tends to run high in sports, and to have someone of Hunter’s caliber opine that a teammate’s sexual orientation doesn’t matter to him would matter a great deal to people. Many of us would be congratulating him for having the guts to stand up for the minority. Sadly, this is not the case.

There do seem to be people who think that homosexual behavior is not appropriate.

It’s not appropriate to fart in public. Some people think it is not appropriate to exhibit or even discuss homosexual behavior in public.

Homosexuals do have a more difficult life. It’s not easy being a sexual minority, I’m sure.

Some people think that same sex attraction is regretable. That is not going away any more than homosexuals are going away.

As I have said elsewhere, don’t worry too much about homosexuals in major league baseball. It is not reasonable to expect someone to be born with both the ability to excel at playing baseball and same sex attraction. These two very different qualities are rare, and it would be extremely rare for one person to have both.

So because you can justify something that is unnatural and obscene and find affection for the thing detestable Torii Hunter should too? There are people, who, like yourself, a practicing homosexual, and by no choice of their own, enjoy physical relations not with people of the same gender but with animals. They find great pleasure in the practice of beastiality so who are we or anyone to criticze that or find offense in it right? According to your logic and reasoning?. Should the public accept those actions too because they are now popular and because the people did not choose to be inclined to such a practice? They too, according to your own reasoning, are being discriminated against like yourself. In line with your reasoning should they be allowed to marry their ox and have beastiality marches and marriages demanding they are entitled and that their actions should be accepted even though what they practice is offensive and repugnant? Where does it stop? Yeah I know someone who is on a crusade, like yourself, will take my words as a personal assault against you and you will immediately go on the attack and take no time to see or try to understand the validity, the sensibleness and the truthfulness in them. If so then you are like so many religious people today who call themselves christians but rewrite the parts of the bible that they do not agree with or do not want to conform to because it would mean sacrifice on their part. So they rewrite and/or edit the parts out that they don’t agree with and make God’s word conform to them and their lives rather than the other way around. So you go on and make the world seem to be the one that is askew while you, the supporters and justifiers of homosexuality, are the ones in alignment.

One, I’m not homosexual, but that’s irrelevant. I have friends and family who are, and I love them exactly as they are. Two, to equate bestiality with homosexuality is stupid, illogical, and rather insulting. Last time I checked, an animal is incapable of giving consent. What consenting HUMAN adults want to do sexually in private is none of my business or yours.

Most Christians pick and choose their morality all the time from the bible. Read Leviticus. If one were to follow it to the letter, one would be in jail. I know some good loving Christians who don’t judge homosexuals because they know it’s not their place to judge. They believe there is only one who can judge, their Lord. They believe that we are all sinners and to judge one sin as worse than another is not their place. Judge not lest ye be judged and all that good stuff. Now, go and be a good and loving Christian, and mind your own sin.

Also, I am tired of hearing people like you with their ignorant attacks on people who stand behind moral principles. Most people, Torii Hunter and myself included, are NOT prejudice against people with homosexual tendencies we LIKE the people we just don’t like the actions.

easttoak - Jan 1, 2013 at 9:01 PM

goosepond – you talk about the “slippery slope” argument of marrying beasts as if it is a natural reaction to extending marriage right to gay people. It is not a natural extension of gay marriage. Whatever the desires of beastality folks, it is not the responsibility of gay people to argue for them. You are just repeating the marketing ploy of right wing talking heads. This argument was made up several years ago to convince gullible, desperate homophobes that they are justified in their opposition to gay rights. You should at least give credit where it is due for your talking points.

Still not so sure how Gay you can be born or is it a conscience decision from learned behaviors.

[Assuming you are straight] Can you point out the moment you choose to start liking women/men? As a guy, I basically realized one day that boobs were awesome, there was no decision making process. Why would it be any different for gay people?

Yes,church,this is the crux of the ” choice” line of thinking. I would ask ,T. Hunter what fellow he imagined having sex with and just which sexual acts he used to determine his choice and did he in fact go through with them before deciding and making his choice?….

paperlions - Dec 30, 2012 at 7:14 PM

Yeah, I fondly remember the day I chose to be heterosexual…it was close there for a while, I gave it a lot of thought though and….wait, no I didn’t. Why is it that heterosexual people (none of which CHOSE to be heterosexual) think homosexual people chose their sexuality?

Pros to homosexuality: Um… really fun gay pride parades?
Cons: Punishable by death in some countries. Many people would hate me. Inability to marry the person of my choice. Being a female and Hispanic, I already face enough discrimination. Gay would have just been too much.

I decided being straight was much easier. This is how everybody does it, right?

I guess, seems like an easy choice to me though. I mean….c’mon…boobs! What could possibly out weight that? Don’t get me wrong, I am pretty happy with the “choice” women make….I just don’t understand it.

historiophiliac - Dec 30, 2012 at 9:15 PM

That’s how you know it’s in the wiring.

cur68 - Dec 30, 2012 at 9:54 PM

‘Lions always spells that wrong. Its “boobz”. And, a big “hell yes” is also customary.